- Minister welcomes positive findings in latest ‘Growing Up In Ireland‘ research; - Positive attitudes towards families from young teenagers; - Minister says problems of obesity, discipline and low self-concept among girls require special attention.Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has today welcomed the publication of the latest series of research findings from the ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ longitudinal study of children which is commissioned and funded by her Department.
The findings published today focus on the lives and experiences of 13 years olds in Ireland and how these have changed since the same children were aged 9 years.
Responding to the findings Minister Fitzgerald said that "this important research is providing us with a wealth of data on Ireland's children. These findings are generally very positive, highlighting Ireland as a great place to grow-up in.”
The Minister welcomed in particular the finding that 99% of thirteen-year-olds get on well with their mums and 98% get on well with their dads.
The Minister stated: “This finding reaffirms the central place of the family in Irish life and in the lives of our children.”
However the Minister expressed particular concern at the findings on obesity, discipline problems and low self-concept among girls.
The Minister stated: “This research shines a light on some of the specific problems and challenges faced by many of Ireland’s young teenagers. These are issues which I believe require special attention at a whole-of-society level."
The research published today includes a focus on the idea of ‘self-concept’ which has been defined as a measure of how children felt about themselves.
Responding to these findings the Minister stated: “The findings suggest that girls have lower self-concept scores in relation to ‘physical appearance’, ‘freedom of anxiety’ and ‘popularity’.
“I feel that this points to broader concerns about the pressures on young teenage girls. Recent tragic events have highlighted just how fragile and vulnerable the lives of many young secondary schools girls can be. There have been calls for action on issues such as tackling cyber-bullying and this is something I, as Minister, am looking at carefully. In addition to this we as a society need to educate and empower our girls to become strong, resilient and confident young women. This is a challenge for us all, families, schools, youth organisations. This is a theme which will need to be addressed in the new Children’s and Young Peoples’ Strategy which the Government will publish in 2013.”
On the issue of obesity, the Minister stated: "These latest findings again highlight the shocking scale of childhood obesity in Ireland. From the longitudinal tracking we see how most children who were overweight or obese at 13 years were also overweight or obese at 9 years. This proves the need for early intervention with children to seek to promote healthy eating and physical activity."
“This is a challenge which is being addressed by the work of the government’s Special Action Group on Obesity, on which my Department is represented.”
“In addition my Department has a role to play through our ongoing development and promotion of play and recreation polices, in conjunction with the Local Authority Play and Recreation Network which I established earlier this year. I also recently announced capital funding for play and recreation initiatives in 2013.”
These latest findings from ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ reiterate and reinforce the trends from previous GUI research indicating that:
One in four (26%) thirteen-year-old children are overweight or obese;
Girls are more likely than boys to be overweight (22% versus 18%) or obese (8% versus 5%); while
Children who are physically active are less likely to be overweight or obese.
On discipline, the findings suggest that boys in second year (compared to first year students) are at greater risk of disengaging from school and are also more likely to misbehave. The findings indicate that 27% of boys and 26% of second year students received detention at least once.
The Minister stated: “These findings are both insightful and challenging. They will require consideration by the whole education system. I will discus these issues with my cabinet colleague, Minister Ruairi Quinn and with the National Education Welfare Board which comes under my remit.”